Betty Sutton - Hypocrite

One of Congresswoman Sutton’s pet projects has been a push to include ‘Buy America’ language in the house Jobs Bill (H.R. 2847).  Through this, Sutton hopes to create and protect American jobs.  For the moment, I’ll leave aside the opinions of experts and historians who disagree with this approach and believe it will ultimately do more harm than good.   Instead, I want to concentrate on our representative’s commitment to this philosophy.

Last year, on NPR, speaking of her Buy American Provisions, Sutton said,

“It just ensures that American tax dollars are supporting American workers doing the work that we need to have done.”

More recently, on December 16, 2009, Sutton published a press release to her official website in which she said the following,

“At a time when unemployment is at 10 percent in this country, it is critical now more than ever that we stand with American workers and businesses.  As we invest in our nation’s infrastructure and manufacturing, the American taxpayers expect that the projects and products made will be produced in America by American workers.”

If, as Sutton believes, keeping federal tax dollars within our national borders is a positive move for American workers, then it would stand to reason that buying goods and services from the 13th district of Ohio would be good for the worker of the district.

Practice What You Preach

It was not long ago that Betty took $118,838 of your tax dollars to produce a pair of self-promoting mailings.  The publishing company chosen by Sutton to complete this controversial task was the Mount Vernon Printing Company.  For those of you following along at home, the Mount Vernon Printing Company is located in Landover, MD (MD-4).

Certainly, with only a small amount of research, Sutton’s staff could have located a printing company within the borders of Ohio’s thirteenth district. Instead, the Congresswoman took nearly $120,000 which had been entrusted to her, as the representative of OH-13, and spent it to support her own campaign and the workers of Maryland’s 4th district.  This was done at a time when Ohio’s unemployment rate has nearly topped 11 percent.

You cannot have it both ways, Betty.  If your ideas are good, then enact them in your own daily work.

Look-At-Me

Knowing how busy you have been I decided to save you some work and have drafted a “Buy OH-13” plan for you:

1. All business transactions completed by your offices will follow a strict “Buy OH-13” policy.
2. If a project or purchase must be completed by a company from outside our district, then you must publish on the Internet within 30 days a detailed, written justification as to why the product or service cannot be completed by an OH-13 business.  It will also be necessary for you to including the amount of tax dollars being spent.
3. For any wavier to this plan, you shall provide, as part of the written justification, a statement detailing the short and long term impacts of the waiver on OH-13 employment.
4. You can request a waiver based on “unavailability/insufficient district source” only if after publishing your request on the Internet for at least 5 business days a sufficient OH-13 source of the material, product, or service does not identify itself during the period.

My plan will slow down the work of your offices, and I understand that it is an inefficient and expensive way to conduct business, however, as my grandmother use to say,

“ What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

Betty Sutton assembles expert panel to talk about rust.

Liberalism always generates the exact opposite of its stated intent.
- Quinn’s Laws of Liberalism

Thank the heavens, we have Congresswoman Sutton looking after us. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the representative assembled a panel of Ohio experts on Wednesday to describe how preemptive efforts to fix corroded roads, bridges and other infrastructure could create jobs and improve safety.

“When a bridge rusts away and collapses or when water mains break, filling our streets with water, we’ll read about corrosion, but by then it’s too late.” – Betty Sutton.

Betty, who has yet to hold a public town hall, is seeking legislation that will stick the federal government’s grubby hands even deeper into our lives by requiring states to spend money on rust mitigation and prevention plans for public projects before they are completed.

I have to ask, Betty, did you really need to call in a panel of experts to understand that rust destroys metal? Was it difficult to conclude that anti-corrosive products prevent corrosion?

If you don’t mind, when you have finished creating all these new anti-corrosion jobs, could you come up with a plan for the men and woman who currently make their living dealing with the effects of rust.

Good grief.

What about these headlines Sutton?

“To liberals, intentions are more significant than the outcomes they achieve.”
- Quinn’s Laws of Liberalism

The CARS ( Cash For Clunkers ) program created wonderful results for a very limited number of Americans.  The legislation also gave a boost to the name recognition of an inexperienced representative from Ohio’s 13th district.   In case anyone in OH-13 had missed all the press coverage given to CARS, Congresswoman Betty Sutton graciously (at your expense) produced a spectacular multi-page, full color mailing to proclaim her own greatness.

If you were to believe the “Look-At-Me” mailings from early 2009, you might think the congresswoman had single handedly rescued the American auto industry from the brink of total destruction.  The reality, of course, is drastically different.  Sutton’s Cash For Clunkers program was nothing more than a quick high.  America, as it turns out, was the big loser at the end of Sutton’s program.  According to numbers provided by the CARS website, the big winners were foreign auto makers.

The following visual representation of the CARS program was recently shared on Facebook.

Between July 1 and August 24, 2009, the federal government provided 677,081 rebates to individuals who traded in an older, inefficient vehicle for a new fuel efficient one. This diagram illustrates the countries from which vehicles were "cliunked" and the countries that built the cars for which they were traded. http://politicalmath.wordpress.com

Betty Sutton Campaign Literature Scandal

Despite the tireless work of Congresswoman Betty Sutton’s political machine, her recent “Look-At-Me” newsletter scandal is not going away.  With a  price tag of $118,838 it is  going to be around for a quite a while.  The “Look-At-Me” scandal is a priceless example of Sutton’s disconnect with the citizens of OH-13.  Her reckless tax and spend attitude is embodied in these mailings.  This issues is far from over and will remain a thorn in Sutton’s side for some time to come.

Today, Bob Dyer of the Beacon Journal took another well deserved shot at Betty.  In his article, Dyer contrasted Sutton’s recent literature with that of state Senator Coughlin’s.

When it comes to communicating with constituents, U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton could take a lesson from state Sen. Kevin Coughlin.

As we told you a few weeks ago, Sutton, D-Copley Township, recently blanketed her district with two brochures that could have come straight from Madison Avenue. Both — fully financed by you — were glorious, full-color, six-page brochures praising her legislative efforts.

In short, the ”newsletters” were campaign literature.

Last week, the folks in my ZIP code got another political mailing, this one from Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls. His newsletter looks like something the local PTA might put together: a simple, black-and-white foldout with a couple of grainy photos.

One of the interior pages is devoted to asking voter opinions on seven issues. The other discusses two bills he has introduced.

When asked about the bare-bones effort, Coughlin said, ”I try to avoid political rhetoric, opting instead to highlight a couple of legislative initiatives and to survey citizens on a wide range of issues.”

The best part about it: He seems genuinely interested in taking the public pulse. The questions are neutral, such as, ”Do you support or oppose a proposal that would extend the school year by 20 days?”

Read more @ ohio.com

Betty "Tax & Spend" Sutton Recognized As "Stormy Morning Warning"

Negative fall out over Sutton’s inappropriate use of our money continues.   Columnist Frank Weaver, Jr. of the Suburbanite took a big swing at Sutton today in his column, “Outtakes Around The Lakes: Stormy Morns and Starry Nights”

“Stormy Morning Warning” goes to Ohio’s 13th U.S. Congressional Representative, Democrat Betty Sutton. During these trying times of economic recession, Sutton mails a self-promoting, six page, full color flyer to everyone in the district embellishing her support for last summer’s Cash for Clunkers program. And she does it at the taxpayers expense.

Less than a week later Sutton blows her horn again. She publicly shows her chutzpah by repeating her Cash for Clunkers support and a few other pet causes in a second mailed flyer. Same self promotion, same number of pages, same full color flyer and again at the taxpayers’ expense. Reportedly, these mail outs cost taxpayers well over $100,000 at a time when unemployment in Ohio is nearly 11 percent and the poverty level even higher. Her self promoting “campaign” literature at the taxpayers’ cost rankled many including yours truly. And you wonder why so many voters reject new and renewal levies. Shame on Sutton.

Suburbanite 1/30/2010

As reported by Sutton’s office, the actual cost for the “Look At Me” mailings was $118,838, not including staff labor.

This story isn’t over yet.

Lance Reed - R Candidate for OH-13

Another name has entered the race for Ohio’s 13th congressional seat.  Meet Lance Reed: entrepreneur, conservative, and founder of JobVue.  Lance is entering the race as a republican candidate.

Our government is out of control. Powers never granted to the federal government are exercised at will. Worst of all, our leaders in Washington have forgotten who gives them their power and in which document our Founding Fathers wrote their exact powers down. The people of this great nation, sadly, have allowed freedom to erode right out from under their feet. Congress is out of control… and more pointedly Ohio’s Representative of the 13th Congressional District, Betty Sutton, is out of control.

I am seeking office under the solemn promise that I will follow the Constitution above all else. My family and my friends are far too important to allow this country to slip into tyranny, or even take one more step down this road. Fortunately, I am not alone. We can turn this around. We must turn this around. We cannot delay. – http://www.reedfor13.com

Visit lance’s website to learn more: http://www.reedfor13.com/

"Survey Says..." - Betty Sutton misreads constituents, again.

I can clearly remember Betty Sutton and her representatives telling us that most of her constituents wanted the health reform she was so diligently working to pass.  Once again, polling data shows Sutton to be  – WRONG.

Ohio Right to Life has just released the results of an interesting survey.  The Wenzel Strategies telephone survey of 1001 Ohio registered voters found that 52 percent of respondents oppose the national health care reform plan currently moving through Congress.

In general, do you favor or oppose the health care reform plan under consideration by President Obama and Congressional leaders?

• Strongly Favor 21.1 %
• Somewhat Favor 18.6%
• Somewhat Oppose 7.9%
• Strongly Oppose 44.1%
• Not Sure 8.4%

The Survey also found that 65 percent of respondents oppose provisions for taxpayer funding of abortions included in any reform package.  Of course, it is not possible for federal tax dollars to fund abortion, right Betty?

Do you think that health insurance that is paid for or subsidized by taxpayer money should include coverage for abortions, or should abortions be excluded from coverage in such situations?

• Should Cover 22.1%
• Should Not Cover 65.0%
• Not Sure 12.9%

The poll questions were asked in conjunction with the Ohio Cultural Index. These results are available in their entirety  at www.ohiolife.org. The Index will be released on January 25. The survey was conducted January 8-12, 2010, and included 1001 Ohio registered voters contacted by phone. The poll carries a 95% confidence interval and a margin of error of +/- 3.07 percentage points.

Bill Haney For OH-13

Welcome the latest addition to the OH-13 Liberation Team. Bill Haney of Brunswick is now in the race for Ohio’s 13th district house seat.  Running as a republican, Haney is a conservative values candidate.  Haney promotes traditional family values, fiscal responsibility, and a respect for the Constitution.  Basically,  everything Congresswoman Betty Sutton is against.

Haney's official announcement of his candidacy.

“The government needs to live within its’ means and must pass a Constitutional Amendment to balance the budget.  Any bailout of private companies is absolutely ridiculous and can not be tolerated.  Congress should be looking out for the needs of the country and not their own personal concern of re-election and escalating pork.  We need to account for 90% of the money we take in and allocate where needed, without over spending.  The remaining 10% goes into reserve.  Zero based budgeting should be standard.  Regulation for businesses should be cut back tremendously.  Capital gains and inheritance taxes should be eliminated.  We should be energy independent by drilling in Alaska and other high resource areas, eliminate tax and regulatory impediments to building more refineries, and spend research dollars on clean coal and wind technologies.  We can not allow a government take over of our medical industry.” – http://billhaney.org/

We've got a dynamo pair of members of the House of Representatives, who are so committed to their districts and committed to this state -- Betty Sutton and Marcy Kaptur. - President Barak Obama

Is Betty Sutton’s house seat safe in 2010?  Not if Michael Barone’s analysis of the Massachusetts Massacre is accurate.

In the Washington Examiner, Barone proposes that Brown’s [R] victory over Coakley [D] may highlight vulnerable districts.  He suggests that any House democrat elected in a district where less than 64% of the voters backed Obama is at risk.

How did the 13th district vote in 2009?  57% Barack Obama.

It is time to show your support for the challengers.   Particular attention should be paid to Justin Wooden [D] right now.  Wooden is going head to head against Betty in the primary and has the first shot at deposing the congresswoman.

Betty Sutton, did you notice that Ohio's unemployment numbers are up for the fourth consecutive month?

Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services recently released their December 2009 Unemployment Report.  Our unemployment rate has now reached 10.9 percent, up from 10.6 in November.  This is the ninth straight month of double-digit unemployment in the buckeye state.

Since Congresswoman Betty Sutton (D-OH) voted to pass H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Ohio has lost ten’s of thousands of jobs.

Betty,

Where is the recovery?

When you helped pass this legislation you told us,

“Overall, this legislation seeks to provide short term help to those who have been hurt the most by the economic downturn, and long term solutions to put our economy on solid footing for years to come.” – Sutton

2009 Ohio Unemployment

When exactly will those long term solutions begin to solve the problems facing Ohio?  The solid footing you spoke of seems a little shaky.

“The time to act on strengthening our nation’s economy is now. I am confident that this comprehensive legislation will provide Ohio and our Nation with the opportunity to improve our financial footing for 2009 and beyond.“- Sutton

Your confidence was misplaced.  How is it that your critics could plainly see the outcome of your work, yet you pushed forward blindly?  As predicted, the act has done little or nothing to stop the bleeding of Ohio jobs.  Despite your wishful plans, Ohio was not on an improved financial footing by the end of 2009.”

Your work in Washington has been a failure.